By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Olimpia Milano coach Ettore Messina addressed the doping cases of Dinos Mitoglou and Riccardo Moraschini, saying that the club won’t be tolerating any use of banned substances, regardless if it’s intentional or not.
“I’ll only make a general comment,” Messina said when asked how he received the recent news about Mitoglou testing positive for doping, after the win of his team over Bayern Munich. “We, as a club, believe in doing always the maximum to compete in the right way both in the past and today, as well as future respecting ourselves, our opponents and the game itself. Regarding what happened with Moraschini and Mitoglou, even though we are still waiting for further news on Mitoglou and how it is going to develop, for us as a club and for the group that we represent, the important thing is -at this point, I reaffirm that we have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to doping whether it is unintentional or purposeful. The only thing that matters is the fact that we cannot accept doping.”
Milano parted ways with Moraschini on Monday (28/3), nearly four months after the player received a one-year suspension for testing positive for clostebol metabolite. Mitoglou has been temporarily suspended by the club, pending a further evaluation of his case.
“I hope Mitoglou will have a chance to explain himself and I hope that there was a mistake,” Messina said. “But again, the important thing is our principals, the principals of the club and the ownership group we represent. I am extremely displeased, especially for our medical staff and the physiotherapists that are dealing with injuries. Because they are the ones that remember what the rules are, what can be taken, what is absolutely forbidden to be taken from day one to the end of the season, and they are attentive to everything. So, if these things happen out of there whether unintentionally, because of bad luck, or purposefully, which I don’t know because I am not the police to investigate the case, this is something that bothers me a lot, that bothers us a lot. And above all, it bothers us the fact that this could be, even if very remotely, associated with the medical staff that works with players from morning until night every day with extreme attention.”